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From time to time the $30 a month sponsorship money can do more than just provide food and education. Sometimes it builds a house. The Linda Family is cared for by a grandmother who takes care of her 8 orphaned grandchildren, all sponsored through Transformed International.

When I first met this family in November of 2008, my heart was broken. It was one of the rare cases that I had to walk out of the assessment because I couldn't hold back the tears. Linda, who was 10 years old, seemed to be the leader of the family. She prepared the meager meals for the other children. Linda was HIV positive and passed away a few months later. Since her death, the state of the family has improved drastically as each child became sponsored. $30 a month doesn't seem like that much, but when you multiply that by 8 kids, it adds up quickly. TI was able to set aside a few dollars every month for the last year until we had enough to build a new home for the family. Sure, its made of stick and mud, but to them, it's a new life.

Sometimes that $30 a month can build a new house for a family, who not too long ago, had no hope at all.

Thank you to the people who sponsor the 8 children from Linda's Family.

-Daniel

Transformed International thanks the students and faculty at E.T. Richardson Middle School for the funds raised during their Thirty Days To Make a Difference fund raiser. These funds were raised to help educate the children at the Hope Bright Future School in Soweto Slums, Nairobi.

The school raised $3,031!

You may never fully realize the impact you helped to make in the lives of these 200 children who would otherwise not receive any education at all.

- Daniel

The 2009 TI intern girls began a project with a group of single teenage mothers where they would make greeting cards. With each card they made, they were paid something that was able to help them to feed their child. In only 5 months, the girls made over 8,000 cards. These cards are now being sold in the U.S. and Canada by our TI teams.

From the money one girl earned, she was able to return to high school. The other 5 girls expressed interest in learning a trade that would allow them to sustain their families in the future.

Thanks to a generous donation from individuals from Pennsylvania, we were able to buy five sewing machines. The girls are now in their second week of tailoring classes.

After 9 to 12 months of classes, each one of the girls (who are now between the ages of 15 and 18 years old) will be able to begin their own business in their homes.

When I daily see the overwhelming poverty all around, I wonder if we are making any difference at all, but then I see the joy on the faces of these five teen mothers and I know that a difference is being made. If we lived our whole life and only impacted one person, we have succeeded.

- Daniel

In July of last year, TI experienced a major loss. One of our HIV orphaned girls, Veronica, passed away. It came as a shock and exposed the need for a special place for orphans with AIDS to be cared for, a place where they can get the unique care that they need. TI and Hope 2 Kenya set a dream in motion to build a small home for these children.

This week, after five months of searching for the perfect spot, I am excited to announce that TI bought one acre of land for this project. It already has a three bedroom house with electricity and running water. After only a few renovations, the project will begin.

We plan to construct an outdoor kitchen and a few other small buildings this year.

The land is large enough for us, in the near future, to move the Neema project here as well. We would like to build a house big enough for 15 teenage girls and a block of classrooms where the girls will be learning to read, write, tailoring and hairdressing.

Please check for updates on the Veronica Home and Neema Project to see how you can get involved.

The students & faculty of E.T. Richardson Middle School would like to make a difference this year by reaching out to children living in the slums of Soweto near the city of Nairobi in Kenya. There, in Soweto, is a place called the Hope Bright Future School. HBF provides an education and a healthy lunch for children living on the fringe of society. Without HBF these children would face a grim future. Our goal is to partner with Transformed International an NGO and registered nonprofit organization that assists HBF through its Soweto School Project.

I’ve not had as many proud moments as I did today. I was moved to tears as I looked out over the sea of children joyfully playing, seemingly with no care in the world. How could such a number of young children be touched in such a way, given new hope and new life?

I’m so grateful to all the people who have given of their resources, no matter how small, to change the life of a child in Kenya. The magnitude of the impact TI is making was so evident today as over 250 people gathered in one place to celebrate the provision they received over the year and to celebrate the changed lives.

As each year passes and a new year dawns, I’m in awe of the growth of TI and the number of people being reached through such a small and young organization. I’m also in awe of the people gathering around a cause to make these things possible. And if the growth in one year has been so huge, I can only wonder what this next year will bring.

Thank you to the wonderful people from NewMarket Alliance Church who made this year’s Christmas party possible and thank you to the TI staff and team who worked so hard to provide food, gift bags and a lot of fun for the orphans.

Thank you to everyone who has made another successful year possible. It couldn’t be done without each one of you.

- Daniel Lipparelli

Moureen, Eunice, Esther, Marysella, Caroline, and Caroline M. These are the names of six girls living in the Shimo slum just down the road from the TI compound. All of these girls are between the ages of 13 and 17, and all but one of them are single mothers. These girls were once in school and were thriving students. However, various events - for some a pregnancy, for others the loss of their parents and lack of school fees - have caused them to drop out of school. Since then, the girls have been working so hard just to make enough money to feed their families. In October these six girls started coming to the TI compound and learning to make greeting cards. We keep track of the number of quality cards they each make and they are paid accordingly.

It is amazing the way God has used this project to take the girls from being looked down on in their community to positions of respect. Making these cards three days a week is helping them support their families. One of the girls said that since she started making the cards her family has not gone hungry.

Through TI and the card project, these girls now have hope for themselves and for their families. The possibilities for them to go further are just beginning to unfold. God certainly has amazing things in store for each one of these girls!

- Hannah Bishop (TI Intern)

I am excited to report that all the money needed for buying maize for TI projects for 2010 has been donated. Over $15,000 was raised and donated to go tours the maize. The maize is stored in several different locations around the country, ready to feed many this coming year.

Because TI was able to get maize right from the farmers after harvest, we were able to get each 200 lb sack for $5 less than our original budgeted expectation. This saved us over $2,000.

The TI crew feels relived knowing that all the staple maize is now in store. Having this will help offset the massive inflation of food cost in Kenya.

Thank you to the individuals, families, groups and churches who donated to this cause. Your donations will make a difference in the lives of many this coming year.

A special thanks to Nicole Jeff’s who organized a successful fundraising event that brought in over $5,300 for the maize for TI 2010 projects. TI is so thankful for the countless hours Nicole and her team put into planning this event and for its success. Also, thank you to the following people for your hard work:

Rachel and Josiah Gordon
Jenn and Stu Oliver
Amy and Matt Nieland
Kate Morawetz
Stacey Kaniuk
Julia and Blair Cowie
Claudie and Miguel Schlereth

This is the ministry of our good friends, Martin and Ruth Shikuku. As seen on our Projectspage, ReACT and TI has come behind the Shikuku’s by supporting the extra OVC’s in their home as well as encouraging them in their small business ventures. Over time, this household has grown so much that their present home is no longer adequate.

Presently there are up to 36 children living in a home more suited for a maximum of 10, but this is about to change.

We are excited to announce that in the summer of 2010, 4 teams of 15-20 people will be visiting Kenya over July and August to build them a new home. You are invited to play a part. Click here for more information: http://reactkenya.com/Wordpress/johabeto/

The Hope 2 Kenya team and TI interns got the unique experience of mudding a traditional African hut used in village communities.

Hope 2 Kenya provided the funds to build this hut that will be used for guests and the TI staff who want to stay for a few days at the Hope Bright Future Children’s Home in Kiminini.

The teams got their hands and feet dirty as the community looked on in surprise at the mud covered westerners making mud balls and piling them to make the walls of the hut. The team finished the walls in an impressive 2 hours.

Thank you Hope 2 Kenya for the funding for this hut and for being willing to get dirty…